The Inspiration of Reading

I have never been an avid reader. As a matter of fact, I always hated books. I grew up in the upcountry and there were no libraries around. You’d have to walk for miles to get to one near a small town in my area. Yet still, the library had uncomfortable chairs and it was located at the center of the town hence there was a lot of noise in the nearby.

Throughout my elementary and high school life, I rarely went to the library. I believed that there was nothing in store there for me. I even didn’t see the reason why my classmates went to college when the material; which we were taught in school was sufficient to enable us excel in life. Even during the holidays, I never went to study in the library; even though my parents wanted me to do so.

It was while I was in my first year in college that things changed. It all happened during the summer break when I went home only to find out that my dad had been hospitalized because he was a lung cancer victim. At first I was mad because they were obligated in notifying me about the health condition even though I was away in college.

The Futile Battle with Lung Cancer

However, the health condition of my ailing dad could not me keep on angering. I really loved my dad and was ready to do anything for him; the least I could do was to see him bedridden and hopeless as if he won’t live for another day.

After arriving from college, I stayed with him for two days at the hospital. I didn’t feel like going home. I just wanted to be by his side. It was during this stay that I decided I would be doing everything in my potential to help him from being a victim. The best I could do was to research about the best ways that I could be of any help.

Therefore the next morning I found myself at the library. It was long since I had visited the place. It had been modernized. Having internet access at the place enabled me to research more about lung cancer and how the effects of the cancer could be mitigated.

My research took about two weeks. In between this time, I still visited my dad and talked to the cancer health team on the best ways to manage the health condition. My dad’s health wasn’t deteriorating much since he was suffering from small cell lung cancer; which was in the limited stage. Together with other members of the family, we discussed about the available options and we decided to settle for wedge resection or segmentectomy.

Adopting a Love for Books

The surgery was successful. But eventually my dad passed four months later despite the palliative care and support that he received after the surgery. Whatever prevailed, I still believe that it was the will of God. We had to soldier on. We all had tried all our best.

After his demise, I found myself visiting the library frequently. Maybe it was the best way that could help me forget the loss of losing a loved one or it might have been induced by the experience that I had when I was researching on the best ways to save my dad when he was at the hospital ailing.

I soon realized that I had a love for books and loved to read anything; which concerned nature and affected humans. Since then, I have been an avid reader. Today, I have one room in my house that I converted to become a home library and have got thousands of books in my shelves. Reading has not only been a culture to me since then. But a big source of inspiration.